Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

E46 (1999 - 2006) The fourth generation 3 Series (E46 chassis) was introduced in 1999 and set the standard for engineering and performance during it's years of production including being named to Car & Driver's 10 best list every one of those years! ! -- View the E46 Wiki

Okay, okay. I may have a flawed techniqu, maybe maybe not. I wonder if the California ruch hour traffic did a number on it? Anyways, I need to be extra careful to disengage the cluth faster. I think I will get myself a Infiniti M35 soon with the auto-manual shift.

God I love my manual though. I think I was born to drive!!!!! I just need to have a slush account for a new clutch every 6 years. I do not mind that. What does a new clutch and labor cost on a M3? Its either M3 or Infiniti M35 baby!!!!!!

Out of curiosity for everyone other than hitbw721, how many miles have you gotten out of your clutches? Everyone seems to shun hitbw721, but I don't think 70,000 is THAT bad for the life of a clutch... Sure, some people get 100,000 and more, but aren't those rare?

Here's some comparisons for you... my first car was an '87 325. It had 206,000 miles on it when i got it in '96. I drove it till 238,000 before i just had to toss in the flag and get rid of it as it was costing me more than i was making at the time. During those very memorable 32000 miles, I had to have the flywheel replaced as the one in the car was so worn down and grooved, it couldn't be machined.. that was around $400 just for the flywheel about 10 years ago. So my next car turned out to be a NIGHTMARE, a 1993 Volvo 850GLT, stick as well. Had 60,000 miles on it when i got it, and by 70, it needed a new clutch to the tune of about $750. That car was an incredible piece and the timing belt gave way and the pistons got bent and it cost about $3200 to fix the engine. thank GOD i had purchased an extended warranty. Even after the engine fix, more and more and more went wrong and i basically was helpless to the dealer who controlled me and finally convinced them to take the car back. In order for them to do this of course, i had to pick on off of their crappy lot. I found the best one i could find, with the lowest amount of miles as i feared people not taking care of their cars for anything over 30K would toss major problems into my hands. I found a '96 Mitsubishi Galant S, 29K miles. My very first car to truly test my clutch skills on. I LOVE to drive, drive fast, and shift. All of my cars have been stick, but this one was the first that I actually had a chance to shove some decent miles on. Almost 10 years later, and at 119,000 miles, the Mitsubishi still had the original clutch and exhaust, a true testament to my clutch skills. What did I do with that car? sold it privately and got a 2001 330i, stick with 39,000 miles. So basically what I am saying is if you are truly good with a clutch, and aren't abusing it or letting it slip all the time, it can and should last a very very long time. The things i have learned to avoid are as mentioned before, resting your foot on the clutch, even a little when not necessary (stop lights, etc). When I come to an intersection, or stop light, I always pop the clutch and stick it into neutral and then brake when needed until I stop. I do not engage the clutch again until it's time to go, nor do i rest on the pedal. Another truly fatal way to kill that clutch is to slip or hover using the clutch and gas on a hill when some people are afraid if they don't, they will get the jerky start from bad clutching. Just remember, practice that clutch foot, and engage quickly and at the right point. Inexperience in engaging the clutch will most likely kill it. Transmissions and Clutches are a LOT more expensive than new brakes, remember that.

Jerky start on a hill? Are you talking about a quick engagement? If you roll a little bit you won't get the jerkiness, but I hear that's pretty bad to engage to go forward while rolling backwards. I have a "jerky" engagement on a hill but I don't roll much at all.

well the jerky start on a hill, what i am talking about is sometimes if it's a steep enough hill, people panic when they start rolling back and can let the clutch out too fast, or not give it enough gas, etc and then you have a hill stall.. some people also really burn the clutch on a hill as they keep the engine speed too high, but let the clutch out slowly and you can just feel it burning up. once you master that clutch point, you should be able to let it out just right on any angle hill.. once it catches, let the clutch completely out and you're good to go as you should be rolling by then..

as far as sitting on the clutch while in neutral, i have heard and read that this does major damage to the clutch as when you press on it, it puts pressure on the pressure plate and can wear it out fast.. i remember when my sister was trying to teach me how to drive stick way way back in the day, she used to come to an intersection, step on the clutch and hold it to the floor while she shifted into neutral and wait for the light.. the entire time her foot was too the floor on the clutch, then once it turned green, she put it into gear and took off.. from what i have heard, that is MUCH worse than simply sticking the clutch, putting it in neutral and then letting the clutch completely out. when the light turns green, step on it again, put it into gear and go... hope my technical terms are right, but you can get the concept at least...

When you're at a stop it's a good idea NOT to keep your foot on the brake pedal either because that can prematurely contaminate the brake fluid. When I come to a stop I usually put the car in neutral, take my feet off BOTH the clutch and brake pedal. At that point I open the driver's door and place my left foot FIRMLY (this is important) on the ground to prevent the car from rolling. If the light is unusually long I will also take my hand off the steering wheel this way I don't wear that out either. Hope this helps.

I just traded a '98 323is with 160K with the original clutch that seemed to still have many miles left in it. I don't do burn outs but I shift a lot and use heel-toe downshift technique to match revs and have fun!!! Approximately 75% of my driving is highway to and from work but the other is in mountainous areas of rural NY. BTW, I also put it in neutral at stop lights to prevent throwout bearing wear...

When you're at a stop it's a good idea NOT to keep your foot on the brake pedal either because that can prematurely contaminate the brake fluid. When I come to a stop I usually put the car in neutral, take my feet off BOTH the clutch and brake pedal. At that point I open the driver's door and place my left foot FIRMLY (this is important) on the ground to prevent the car from rolling. If the light is unusually long I will also take my hand off the steering wheel this way I don't wear that out either. Hope this helps.